8.9/8.10/8.11 - Strong Imperfect Tense/Imperative/Negative Imperative
Section 8.9 - اَلْاَخَفِاَلمُضَارِعُ Strong Imperfect Tense al-mu-daa-ri-'ul akhaf
Essentially, in Hidden imperfect tense, the last alphabet is lightened by either removing a harakah or altogether dropping an alphabet. This is where the grouping of the inflections that was done for memorizing becomes handy.
1) In group 1, dammah on the last alphabet changes to a ( ْ ) Ja-mun/sukoon and يَفْعَلُ yaf-'alu becomes يَفْعَلْ yaf-'al.
2) In group 2, last alphabet ن drops out and يَفْعَلَانِ yaf-'alaa-ni becomes يَفْعَلَا yaf-'alaa.
3) In group 3, no changes occur
Table 55– Hidden Imperfect Tense
اَلْاَخَفِاَلمُضَارِعُ (also called الْمُضَارِعُ الْمَجْزُوْمْ) Inflections
The table below takes the imperfect tense through the 14 inflections with particle لَمْ lum which has no meaning but causes a negative as in "not at all" in the sentence as described in column 2.
Table 56 الْخَفِيْفِ الْمُضَارِعُ (also Called الْمُضَارِعُ الْمَجْزُوْمْ) Inflections with particle لَمْ lum
| Inflection number | Verb | اَخَفْ Akhaf Version when لَمْ lum used before it |
| 1 | يَفْعَلُ
Yaf-'alu
He does or will do | يَفْعَلْ لَمَ
Lum Yaf-'al
He did not do at all |
| 2 | تَفْعَلُ
Taf-alu
She does or will do | تَفْعَلْ لَمْ
Lum Taf-al
She did not do at all |
| 3 | تَفْعَلُ
Taf-'alu
You (male) do or will do | تَفْعَلْ لَنْ
Lum Taf-'al
You did not do at all |
| 4 | أَفْعَلُ
Af-'alu
I (male/female) do or will do | أَفْعَلْ لَمْ
Lum Af-'al
I (male/female) did not do at all |
| 5 | نَفْعَلُ
Naf-'alu
We (male/female/, dual/plural) do or will do | نَفْعَلْ لَمْ
Lum Naf-'al
We (male/female/, dual/ plural) did not do at all |
| 6 | يَفْعَلَانِ
Yaf-'alaa-ni
They both (males) do or will do | يَفْعَلَا لَمْ
Lum Yaf-'alaa
They both (males) did not do At all |
| 7 | تَفْعَلَانِ
Taf-'alaa-ni
They both (females) do or will do | تَفْعَلَا لَمْ
Lum Taf-'alaa
They both (females) did not do at all |
| 8 | تَفْعَلَانِ
Taf-'alaa-ni
You both (males) Do or will do | تَفْعَلَا لَمْ
Lum Taf-'alaa
You both (males) did not do at all |
| 9 | تَفْعَلَانِ
Taf-'alaa-ni
You two (females) do or will do | تَفْعَلَا لَمْ
Lum Taf-'alaa
You both (males) did not do at all |
| 10 | يَفْعَلُوْنَ
Yaf-'aloo-na
They all (males) do or will do | يَفْعَلُوْا لَمْ
Lum Yaf-'aloo
They all (males) did not do at all |
| 12 | تَفْعَلُوْنَ
Taf-'aloo-na
You all (males) do or will do | تَفْعَلُوْا لَمْ
Lum Taf-'aloo
You all (males) did not do at all |
| 14 | تَفْعَلِيْنَ
Taf-'alee-na
You (female) do or will do | تَفْعَلِيْ لَمْ
Lum Taf-'alee
You (female) did not do at all |
| 11 | يَفْعَلْنَ
Yaf-'al-na
They all (females) do or will do | يَفْعَلْنَ لَمْ
Lum Yaf-'al-na
They all (females) definitely do not or will not do at all |
| 13 | تَفْعَلْنَ
Taf-'al-na
You all (females) do or will do | تَفْعَلْنَ لَمْ
Lum Taf-'al-na
You all (females) did not do at all |
These changes in an imperfect tense occur when any of the following alphabets show up before it.
a) لَمْ lum: When this Particle enters in front of فِعلُ الْمُضَارِعِ feil-ulmu-daa-ri-'ee, it creates a strong negative emphasis and also it associates the Verb to future only. By itself, لَمْ lum does not mean anything. Using the فَعَلَ fa-a-la die, its imperfect tense is يَفْعَلُ yaf-a-lu which means he does/he is doing/he will do. When used with لَمْ lum, this becomes يَفْعَلْ لَمْ lum yaf-'al which now means he did not do it at all. Note that يَفْعَلُ yaf-'a-lu became yaf-'al يَفْعَلْ.
Some Qur’anic examples would be:
1) Al-Ikhlaas - Verse 4
وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ
Wa lum ya-kul la-hu kuf-wan ahad
Nor is there to Him any equivalent
2) Al-Ikhlaas - Verse 3
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُوْلَدْ
Lumya-lid wa lum yu-lad
He neither begets nor is born
3) Al-Fil - Verse 1
أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ
a-lumtara kaifa fa-'a-la raab-bu-ka bi-as-haabil-feel
Have you not considered, [O Muhammad], how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant?
4) Al-Bayyina - Verse 1
لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
Lum ya-kunil-ladhee-naka-fa-roo
يَكُنِ was actually يَكُنْbut in reading, the next word is joined with a kasrah
Those who disbelieved
b) لَمَّا lum-ma (when, have not yet)
1) As-Saff - Verse 5
مَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ
Falum-maa zaa-ghu azaa-ghal-laa-hu qu-loo-ba-hum
And when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate
2) Al-Jumu'a - Verse 3
وَآخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ
Waaa-kha-ree-na min-hum lum-ma yal-haqoo be-him
And [to] others of them who have not yet joined them.
c) اِنْ In (If/whether): This Particle is used when an if/then, if/until conditional statement is written. As in “if you go, then I will go”. When this Particle is used before the imperfect tense, it causes the Verb to go into the Hidden form اَخَفْ akhafwhich means the last alphabet goes through the changes discussed before. Also, the response Verb goes through the same changes. Simple examples would be:
1) If you go, then I will go اِنْ تَذْهَبْ أَذْهَبْ in-tazhab-azhab
2) If you show mercy, mercy will be shown to you اِنْ تَرْحَمْ يَرْحَمْ in-tar-ham yar-ham
اِنْ sometimes is written with an alphabet ل added to it and it becomes لَئِنْ with the same meaning and extra emphasis.
اِنْ is used a few times in al-Qur’an. Some Examples from the Holy book are:
1) Muhammad - Verse 7
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن تَنصُرُوا اللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَكُمْ
Yaaayyu-hal ladhee-na aa-ma-nu in-tan-sool-laha yan-sur-kum wa yu-sab-bit aq-daa-ma-kum
O you who have believed, if you support Allah, He will support you and plant firmly your feet.
2) Al-Baqara - Verse 196
فَإِنْ أُحْصِرْتُمْ فَمَا اسْتَيْسَرَ مِنَ الْهَدْيِ
Fa-inah-sir-tum fa mas tai-sara minal had-yee
But if you are prevented, then [offer] what can be obtained with ease of sacrificial animals.
3) Al-Kahf - Verse 70
قَالَ فَإِنِ اتَّبَعْتَنِي فَلَا تَسْأَلْنِي عَن شَيْءٍ حَتَّىٰأُحْدِثَ لَكَ مِنْهُ ذِكْرًا
Qaa-lafa-init-taba'-tani fa-laa tas-al-nee un shai-in hat-ta ah-di-sala-ka min-hu dhik-ran
He said, "Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I tell you about it.”
4) Al-Baqara - Verse 284
وَإِنْ تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ
Wain-tub-doo maa fi an-fu-si-kum aw tuq-foo-hu yu-haa-sib-kumbihil-lah
Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it
5) Al-Israa - Verse 54
إِنْ يَشَأْ يَرْحَمْكُمْ أَوْ إِن يَشَأ
Inya-shaa ayar-ham-kum aw in yasha-aa
IfHe wills, He will have mercy upon you; or if He wills, He will punish you
There are other Nouns also that enter as conditional statement which require a response. These are:
مَنْ mun who/whoever
مَا maa what/whatever
اَيْنَ ay-na where
اَنَّ anna because
مَتٰى ma-taa when
اَىٌّ ayyu which
1) مَنْ أَرْحَمْ يَرْحَمْ mun ar-ham yar-ham Whoever shows mercy will be shown mercy
2) مَاتَشْرَبْ أَشْرَبْ maa tash-rab ash-rab
Whatever you drink, I will drink
3) اَيْنَ تَزْهَبْ أَذْهَبْ ay-na taz-habaz-hab
Wherever you go, I will go
4) مَتٰى تَصُمْ أَصُمْ ma-taata-sum asum
When you fast, I will fast
d) لِ li (for, used for desire) also called لَامُ الْاَمْرِ lam-ul amri
This Particle when added to an imperfect tense makes it اَخَفْ akhafalso and gives the meaning of a desire as in, لِيَفْعَلْ lee-yaf-al meaning he should do it or it is desirable that he does it.
When an alphabet وَ or فَ is added with a lam ul amr, then its sign changes to a jaz-mun also. The above word for example becomes وَلْيَفْعَلْ wal-yaf-al meaning you should do it.
Some examples from al-Qur’an are given below:
1) Aal-Imran - Verse 104
وَلْتَكُنْ مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ
Wal-ta-kummin-kum um-ma-tun
And let there be [arising] from you a nation
2) Al-Hashr - Verse 18
وَلْتَنْظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ
Wal-tan-zurnaf-sun maa qad-da-mat li-ghad
And let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow
3) Quraish - Verse 3
فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَٰذَا الْبَيْتِ
Fal-ya'-bu-doo rabba haa-zal baiti
Let them (they should) worship the Lord of this House
4) Al-A'raaf - Verse 194
فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Fal-yasta-jee-bula-kum in kun-tum saa-di-qeen
and let them respond to you, if you should be truthful
Section 8.10 – Imperative Verb فِعْلُ الْأَمْرِ fe'il-ul amr (Command)
The imperative in Arabic is used to command a second person, whether singular, dual or plural, male or female.Imperative Verb is considered to be a third category of Verb after past tense and imperfect tense by some Grammarians and others consider it to be a part of variations in imperfect tense.
Imperative Verb as the word implies is used for command, ask or request depending upon who is being addressed. For example, if you are addressing a higher authority (say Allah SWT) you would be requesting. If the addressee is a child or a subordinate, you will be commanding/ ordering. For an equal level addressee, you may ask or request.
1) Command can only be given in present or future. Therefore, only imperfect Verb will have command Verbs. There is no imperative mode in the past tense.
2) It is also obvious from this discussion that a command Verb can only be used for 2nd person (present). Given this, there will be only 6 inflections, two for Nominative رَفْعٌ(raf-un) (male/ female) two for Accusative نَصْبٌ nasb-un (male/female) and two for jussive جَزْمٌ jaz-mun (male/female). From the table 57, the highlighted area inflections only can be made into a command/imperative Verb:
Table 57 – Imperfect Tense inflections used in Imperative (bolded only)
| | | | single | | dual | | plural |
| Absent 3rd person | Male | 1 | يَفْعَلُ | 6 | يَفْعَلَانِ | 10 | يَفْعَلُوْنَ |
| Female | 2 | تَفْعَلُ | 7 | تَفْعَلَانِ | 11 | يَفْعَلْنَ | |
| Present 2nd person | Male | 3 | تَفْعَلُ | 8 | تَفْعَلَانِ | 12 | تَفْعَلْوْنَ |
| female | 14 | تَفْعَلِينَ | 9 | تَفْعَلَانِ | 13 | تَفْعَلْنَ | |
| Speaker 1st person | Male/female | 4 | أَفْعَلُ | 5 | نَفْعَلُ | ||
3) To create a command Verb, following steps are required which are shown with one example of male Nominative رَفْعٌ (raf-'un) imperfect Verb تَفْتَحُ taf-ta-hu which means you are opening or will open:
A. First make the imperfect Verb a Hidden version اَخَفْ akhaf discussed before. In our example, تَفْتَحُ taf-ta-hu becomes تَفْتَحْ taf-tah.
B. Remove the imperfect Verb sign which is the first alphabet. تَفْتَحْ taf-tah becomes فْتَحْ.
C. If it is readable, then we are done and what we have is the command Verb. If not readable because of the second alphabet having a jaz-mun on it (which happens often) then a hamza-tul wasli ا is added.
In our example, since first alphabet has a jaz-mun (sukoon) on It, it becomes فْتَحْ, this Verb is unreadable. A hamzahis added and it becomes افْتَحْ. It is still unreadable because hamzah needs a harakah to make it readable.
D. Next we give the hamzah a sign. The rule for this is, if harakah on ع alphabet (remember the die we use is فَعَلَ/يَفْعَلُfa-a-la/yaf-a-lu is a dammah, the hamzah is given a dammah. If it has a fathah or kasrah, a kasrah is given to the hamzah.
In our example تَفْتَحُ taf-ta-hu, since ع alphabet is ت which has a fathah on it, we need to give the hamzah a kasrah and the Verb becomes اِفْتَحْ pronounced If-tah which means “you open it” as in the dua we make when entering a masjid:
اللَّهُمَّ اِفْتَحْ لِي أَبْوَابَ رَحْمَتِكَ
"O Allah, open for me your doors of mercy"
Note that since this is a hamzah-tul-wasli, it is kept in writing but not pronounced, so the above dua will be read as Allahum-maftah li ab-waa-ba rah-ma-tik.
Following is a completed table of all imperative commands. Similar to the past tense, imperfect tense also has three dies: يَفْعَلُ yaf-'a-lu, يَفْعِلُ yaf-'i-lu and يَفْعُلُ yaf-'u-lu.
Table 58 – يَفْعَلُ (Yaf-'a-lu) Imperative Inflections
Table 58 – يَفْعَلُ (Yaf-'a-lu) Imperative Inflections
| | Gender | single | dual | plural |
| Present | Male | اِفْعَلْ | اِفْعَلَا | اِفْعَلْوْا |
| 2nd person | female | اِفْعَلِي | اِفْعَلَا | اِفْعَلْ |
Table 59 - يَفْعِلُ (Yaf-'i-lu) Imperative Inflections
| | | single | dual | plural |
| Present | Male | اِفْعِلْ | اِفْعِلَا | اِفْعِلْوْا |
| 2nd person | female | اِفْعِلِي | اِفْعِلَا | اِفْعِلْ |
Table 60 – يَفْعُلُ yaf-'u-lu Imperative Inflections
| | Gender | single | dual | plural |
| Present | Male | اِفْعُلْ | اِفْعُلَا | اِفْعُلْوْا |
| 2nd person | female | اِفْعُلِي | اِفْعُلَا | اِفْعُلْ |
E. Imperative with all Forms اَبْوَابٌ ab-waa-bun - ثُلَاثِيْ thu-lathi and مَزِيْدٌ فِيْهِ mazeed-un fihi
Thou-laa-thi
1) Form ف: فَتَحَ/يَفْتَحُ Fa-ta-ha/Yaf-ta-hu
2) Form ض: ضَرَبَ/يَضْرِبُ Da-ra-ba/Yad-ri-bu
3) Form ن: نَصَرَ/يَنْصِرُ Na-sa-ra/yan-su-ru
4) Form س: سَمِعَ/يَسْمَعُ Sa-mi-ya-Yas-ma-u
5) Form ح: حَسِبَ/يَحْسَبُ Ha-si-ba/Yah-sa-bu
6) Form ك: كَرُمَ/يَكْرُمُ Ka-ru-ma/Yak-ru-mu
Mazeed Fihi
7) Form اِفْعَالًا (if-#aa-lan): اَنْفَقَ/يُنْفِقُ An-fa-qa/yun-fi-qu
8) Form تَفْعِيْلًا (Taf-#eel-an): طَهَّرَ/يُطَهِّرُ Tah-hara/yu-tah-hiru
9) Form مُفَاعَلَةً (Mufa’alan): نَافَقَ/يُنَافِقُ Naa-fa-qa/Yu-naa-fi-qu
10) Form تَفَعُّلً (tafa’u-lan): قَبَّلَ/يُقَبِّلُ Khab-ba-la/yu-qab-bi-lu
11) Form تَفَاعُلً (ta-faa-'u-lan): تَدَارَسَ/يَتَدَارَسُ Ta-daa-ra-sa/ya-ta-daa-ra-su
12) Form اِفْتِعَالً (if-ti-'aa-lan): اِكْتَسَبَ/يَكْتَسِبُ Ik-ta-sa-ba/yak-ta-si-bu
13) Form اِنْفِعَالً (in-fi-'aa-lan): اِنْكَسَرَ/يَنكَسِرُ In-ka-sa-ra/Yan-ka-si-ru
14) Form اِسْتِفْعَالً (is-tif-'aa-lan): اِسْتَغْفَرَ/يَسْتَغْفِرُ Is-tagh-fi-ra/Yas-tagh-fi-ru
Table 61 – Imperatives Examples for all 14 forms اَبْوَابٌ
| Form | Root alphabets | Past Tense | Imperfect Tense | Imperative Tense and meaning (command) | |
| ف
Faa | ف ت ح | فَتَحَ
Fa-ta-ha | يَفْتَحُ
Yaf-ta-hu | اِفْتَحْ
If-tah | You open |
| ض
Daad | ض ر ب | ضَرَبَ
Da-ra-ba | يَضْرِبُ
Yad-ri-bu | اِضْرِبْ
Id-rib | You hit |
| ن
Noon | ن ص ر | نَصَرَ
Na-sa-ra | يَنْصُرُ
Yan-su-ru | اُنْصُرْ
Un-sur | You help |
| س
seen | س م ع | سَمِعَ
Sa-mi-'aa | يسْمَعُ
Yas-ma-'u | اِسمَعْ
Is-ma' | You listen |
| ح
haa | ح س ب | حَسِبَ
Ha-si-ba | يَحسَبُ
Yah-sa-bu | اِحسَبْ
Ih-sab | You reckon |
| ك
kaaf | ك ر م | كَرُمَ
Ka-ru-ma | يَكْرُمُ
Yak-ru-mu | اُكْرُمْ
Uk-rum | You be generous |
| اِفْعَالًا
If-aa-lan | ن ز ل | اَنْزَلَ
An-za-la | يُنْزِلُ
Yun-zi-lu | اُنْزِلْ
Un-zil | You Send down |
| تَفْعِيْلًا
Taf-ee-lan | ن ز ل | نَزَّلَ
Naz-za-la | يُنَزِّلُ
Yu-naz-zi-lu | نَزَّلْ
Naz-zal | You bring down! |
| مُفَاعَلَةً
Mu-faa-ala-tan | ن ف ق | نَافَقَ
Naa-fa-qa | يُنَافِقُ
Yu-naa-fi-qu | نَافِقْ
Naa-fiq | You become hypocrite! |
| تَفَعُّلً
Tafa’u-lan | ع ل م | تَعَلَّمَ
Ta-al-la-ma | يَتَعَلَّمَ
Ya-ta-alla-ma | تَعَلَّمْ
Ta-allam | You learn! |
| تَفَاعُلً
Ta-faa-u-lan | د ر س | تَدَارَسَ
Ta-daa-ra-sa | يَتَدَارسُ
Ya-ta-daa-ra-sa | تَدَارَسْ
Tada-ras | You study together |
| اِفْتِعَالً
If-ti-aa-lan | ك س ب | اِكْتَسَبَ
Ik-ta-sa-ba | يَكْتَسِبُ
Yak-ta-si-bu | اِكْتَسِبْ
Ik-ta-sib | You earn! |
| اِنْفِعَالً
In-fi-aa-lan | ك س ر | اِنْكَسَرَ
In-ka-sa-ra | يَنكَسِرُ
Yan-ka-si-ru | اِنْكَسِرْ
In-ka-sir | You break! |
| اِسْتِفْعَالً
Is-tif-aa-lan | غ ف ر | اِسْتَغْفَرَ
Is-tagh-fa-ra | يَسْتَغْفِرُ
Yas-tagh-fi-ru | اِسْتَغْفِرْ
Is-tagh-fir | You ask for forgiveness |
Section 8.11 – Negative Imperative Verb in Imperfect Tense فِعْلُ النَّهِي
This command is the same as the imperative that we studied in the previous chapter, except that now it is negative command. For this, the Particle لَا laa is used with the Hidden imperfect tense اَخَفْ akhaf. Note this is the same لَا laa as the one we used in past tense, with the exception that this is now an active Particle, meaning it changes the imperfect tense to a Hidden imperfect tense. This is the way to tell that it is a negative command. In past tense, this Particle was inactive and did not cause any changes to the Verb.
For example:
1) تَغْفِرُ tagh-fir Means you forgive or will forgive
2) لَا تَغْفِرُ laa tagh-fi-ru Means you do not forgive or will not forgive
3) لَا تَغْفِرْ laa tagh-fir Means do not forgive
So, the difference between example 2 and example 3 is that, first one gives a negative meaning and the third one gives a command to not do it.
Some Qur’anic Examples:
1) Al-Hashr - Verse 19
وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوْا اللَّهَ…
Wa laa taku-noo kal-la-zee-na na-sul-lahu
And be not like those who forgot Allah
2) Ad-Dhou-haa - Verse 10
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
Wa ammas-sai-la fa laa tan-har
And as for the beggar, do not repel [him]
3) Al-Muddath-thir - Verse 6
وَلَا تَمْنُنْ تَسْتَكْثِرُ
Wa laa tam-nun tas-tak-thi-ru
And do not confer favor to acquire more
4) Al-Baqara - Verse 221
وَلَا تَنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكَاتِ حَتَّىٰ يُؤْمِنَّ ۚ
Wa laatan-ki-hul mush-ri-kaa-ti hat-ta yu-min-naa
And do not marry polytheistic women until they believe
5) Al-Israa - Verse 31
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَاقٍ
Wa laa taq-tu-loo aw-laa-du-kum khash-ya-ta im-laa-qi
And do not kill your children for fear of poverty (a pre-Islam practice)
6) Luqman - Verse 13
يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ
Yaa bu-naiy-ya laa tush-rik bil-lahi
"O my son, do not associate [anything] with Allah
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